Review: Piper Perabo Solid In John Pollono's Tense And Funny Lost Girls

Two years ago MCC mounted John Pollono's terrific SMALL ENGINE REPAIRS at the Lortel in a tense and funny production directed by Jo Bonney. That same combo produces the same terrific results with his newest, LOST GIRLS, which, like its predecessor, offers the snappy, colorful dialogue of troubled working class New Englanders with tight plotting and a clever twist.

In her modest Manchester, New Hampshire home, tough-as-nails single mom Maggie (Piper Perabo) is furious to find her car missing when she's about to head to work. Despite a nor'easter outside and radio broadcasts warning of dangerous roads, she can't afford to lose her low-paying job by missing a shift.

Her anger turns to panic after finding out her teenage daughter didn't show up at school that day. Maggie's ex-husband, Lou (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), a cop, is on the road with his new wife, Penny (Meghann Fahy), when he gets her phone call and the two of them show up immediately.

Maggie's foul-mouthed mom, Linda (Tasha Lawrence), aims plenty of sarcasm at the sweet-natured Penny who reacts with friendly compassion. "I don't really do sarcasm," she explains.

While Maggie and Lou work together to find out where their daughter is and if she's safe, we see hints of the incompatibility that most likely did in their relationship. There's a definite attraction and respect between them but they keep pushing each other's wrong buttons. The even-tempered and nurturing Penny, while not a pushover, would seem the less-dramatic choice for Lou.

Maggie has been trying to steer her daughter away from the pattern of teenage pregnancy that runs in her family, but assumes the worst when Lou and Penny mention why they think she may be sexually active with a boyfriend.

Their scenes alternate with ones set in a cheap Connecticut roadside motel where a teenage boy and girl (Lizzy DeClement and Josh Green) unexpectedly connect. She's a rebellious, cynical rocker and he's a clean-cut student athlete who, although he's agreed to drive her across the country to meet her much older boyfriend, finally admits that he's been in love with her since the second grade.

Their hesitant, sweet episodes of young affectionate discovery contrast nicely with Maggie and Lou's romantic disillusionment, intensified by the fact that, both being responsible parents, they're forever connected by their daughter. Perabo is solidly detailed playing a woman who, despite financial struggles, is determined for her daughter to have the kind of opportunities she never had. She leads a strong ensemble in an engaging, quick-moving play with a kicker of a finish.

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